West Bridgewater woman in fatal crash still allowed to drive

A West Bridgewater woman expected to be summoned to court to face motor vehicle homicide charges will still be allowed to drive more than 10 days after the fatal crash police say she caused last week.

Benjamin Paulin

A West Bridgewater woman expected to be summoned to court to face motor vehicle homicide charges will still be allowed to drive more than 10 days after the fatal crash police say she caused last week.

Christopher Wengler, 32, of Easton was killed in a two-car crash on Route 138 in Stoughton about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 31.

Pamela Sundquist, 30, of 1 Richardson Road in West Bridgewater is expected to be charged with vehicular homicide, reckless, negligent and unsafe driving, speeding and driving in the wrong lane, Stoughton Police Deputy Chief Robert Devine said Monday. It is unclear when a summons would be issued.

Sara Lavoie, a spokeswoman for MassDOT said Sundquist’s license would be “suspended indefinitely” on Jan. 12, which is 13 days after the accident.

The delay in suspending her license is due to the registry’s so-called “fatal preliminary provision,” in which it investigates whether a person may have been at fault in an accident. That investigation ended Jan. 2.

There is a 10-day period from the end of an investigation to when a suspension can go into effect, Lavoie said.

A summons, as opposed to an arrest, is typical in a case such as this, said Mitch Librett, an associate professor of criminal justice at Bridgewater State University.

“A summons is the equivalent of being arrested,” Librett said.

The Wengler family mourned the loss of Christopher at Farley Funeral Home in Stoughton on Monday.

As the hours went by, more and more people streamed into the funeral home to pay their respects. More than 200 people were in attendance, Christopher’s father Steven Wengler said.

“It’s been rough. Everybody misses him. It’s been a hard couple weeks,” said his sister, Tara Wengler, 31, of Easton. “There were people that knew him just as friends and then there was his close family. That part was a lot harder and sadder.”

Sundquist works as a senior client service administrator at Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC in Stoughton, the company’s website said. An employee at the company confirmed on Tuesday that Sundquist works there.

Sundquist has been with the company since 2010, the website said.

Prior to working at Shorepoint, she worked at State Street Bank and Thomas Weisel Partners’ private client group, the website said.

She graduated from Roger Williams University with a degree in financial services “where she was a member of Sigma Beta Delta, the Business Honor Society, and Delta Sigma Pi, the Professional Business Fraternity,” the website said.

“She currently resides in West Bridgewater, MA, with her husband and enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends,” the website said.

Sundquist was driving more than 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, a state police report said.

Her driving record indicates she owes money for unpaid tolls from 2013 and did not pay an excise tax bill in Attleboro last year, Lavoie said.

Wengler’s family is still coping with their loss.

“I miss my son,” said Steven Wengler. “It’s been a very vicious week.”

Christopher leaves behind his wife, Mariana, and 7-year-old son, Carsten. A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise money for his family. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, the fund had raised nearly $5,000.

Another fund, College for Carsten, has been set up at Lou’s Custom Exhaust in Stoughton and Canton Auto Clinic, where they will be selling bumper stickers to raise money.

“It’s going to be hard living without him,” said Tara Wengler. “He was a big part of our family. We’re just going to make sure his wife and son are taken care of and do the best we can without him.”